The Westshore Council of Governments and six west-side mayors were the
recent and proud recipients of the Ohio State Auditor’s Taxpayer Hero
Award.
The award recognized the mayors and their city governments for their
progressive commitment to partner on a regional approach to government
and city services.
“Last fall, the mayors and I got together and talked. One of the things
that I heard was, ‘I’m glad you’re excited about shared city services,
but some of us have been doing this for awhile.’ When I left, I felt
that we needed to recognize the Westshore Council of Governments (COG)
for the work that it’s done,” said Ohio State Auditor David Yost. “It’s
all the buzz that we go out and want to see shared services between
communities. It does, in a lot of instances, drive down the cost of
government. I didn’t just want to recognize the new stuff that folks
were doing. I wanted to recognize the pioneers. And we have pioneers
represented here.”
Those pioneers include:
• Mayor Pamela Bobst of Rocky River.
• Mayor Dennis Clough of Westlake.
• Mayor Kevin Kennedy of North Olmsted.
• Mayor Eileen Patton of Fairview Park.
• Mayor Michael Summers of Lakewood.
• Mayor Debbie Sutherland of Bay Village.
“The other thing that I really value about this group of mayors is the
non-partisan nature of how they work together. They never talk about
their political affiliations; they work as a team. There really is no
democratic or republican way to pave the streets, put out fires, pick up
trash, or catch criminals. These guys are partnering at the grassroots
level on services that their shared constituents expect. I want to
commend them on how they leave their political labels at the door and
focus on getting the best job done for the best price for the people
they serve,” said Auditor Yost.
The history of COG
In 1971, according to Mayor Patton, the Westshore Council of Governments
was created to encourage city officials to cooperatively work together
for the good of their communities. “It was regionalization, which was
innovative back then. Today, regionalization is the buzz word,” she
said.
According to Mayor Patton, the mutual aid started with the communities’
Police and Fire Departments. The Westshore Enforcement Bureau-WEB was
created to address issues that were outside of the normal realm of each
city’s police and fire efforts. The bomb squad also came out of that
effort.
In 2005, four of the six communities started the Westshore Dispatch Center to facilitate emergency call processing.
Westshore COG recently submitted a grant to finance a staff position to
implement the new Fire District that the group is currently working on
developing.
These are just a few of the efforts that emerged from the Westshore COG,
and they were the basis for the cities earning this special honor from
the State.
The Mayors’ responses
All of the mayors were honored to receive the award and be recognized by the State Auditor.
“I am very honored, not only for myself but for the mayors who came
before all of us. They had the foresight to form the Westshore COG.
Together, we have picked up momentum and built on their success,” said
Mayor Debbie Sutherland of Bay Village. “The Westshore COG is a model
for the State of Ohio. We are innovative and stable and provide great
services. That’s why people and businesses want to locate in this area;
we are a great bang for the taxpayers’ buck!” said Mayor Sutherland.
“I am also honored to accept this award, along with my colleagues, and
be recognized for working to benefit the taxpayers,” said Mayor Kevin
Kennedy of North Olmsted.
For Mayor Dennis Clough of Westlake, the award demonstrates what a
collaborative effort can accomplish if municipalities or local
governments get together and come up with programs that maximize the
efficiency and use of taxpayer dollars.
“I’m very pleased to have been recognized, along with my colleagues,
because it is a joint effort,” said Mayor Clough. “COG is another
demonstration to the citizens of all of our communities that we do care
about how we manage and spend taxpayer dollars. This is a very efficient
way of doing it, while providing quality services such as the Hazmat
Unit, the Westshore Enforcement Bureau, and many of the other
initiatives that COG has worked on.”
For Mayor Eileen Patton of Fairview Park, the award was a tribute to all
of the employees in all six of the cities’ administrations.
“We all come to work every day to do our jobs for the citizens. I tip my
hat to all of the employees at each of the City Halls. That’s how we
get things done.
“And when we belong to organizations such as the Westshore COG, it helps
make all of our jobs easier because we have more funds to work with. We
share ideas with each other and discuss best practices. It’s nice to be
recognized so that taxpayers know that, as elected officials, we are
doing everything we can to effectively manage their tax dollars. Joining
forces with others allows us to accomplish many of our goals,” said
Mayor Patton.
“It’s always an honor to be recognized for doing, and in this case,
perpetuating good work for our taxpayers,” stated Mayor Michael Summers
of Lakewood. “It affirms a commitment to creative problem solving with
communities that are in Lakewood’s expanded neighborhood.
“Forty years of working together is a very big deal. In Lakewood, that
spans eight mayors and many eras of concerns and opportunities. The fact
that all of these mayors were committed to supporting this effort
through their time, money, and effort speaks to its value. There is no
question that I can better meet my obligations as Mayor of Lakewood
because I can learn from and share issues and concerns with a group of
very talented mayors,” said Mayor Summers.

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